The Bleak Midwinter
by Khilari
Summary: Sir Walter and Sir Daniel travel into faerie to retrieve a stolen child. Written for the kinkmeme. Medieval fantasy AU.


Walter found Daniel in the gardens, in doublet and hose rather than his armour, watching the sun rise over the forest. Archimedes was fluttering around his shoulders, more active now than he would be later in the day. Several of the knights had trained hawks, but they were servants not pets. The owl landed on Daniel's leg and looked up at him, eyes closing blissfully as Daniel scratched behind his ears under the feathers.

Walter stepped forward, armour creaking slightly no matter how stealthily he moved. Unlike Daniel he never took it off, preferring to look at the world through the grill of his visor. They made an eccentric sight at banquets; one still in his distinctive black and white armour with his visor pushed up just enough to slip food under it, the other feeding scraps of meat to the owl on his shoulder. Walter didn't care what the other knights thought, he knew he was stronger than any of them.

'I've not seen you for a long while,' he said as Daniel looked around. 'Been questing?'

Daniel nodded. 'Against Lady Twilight. I found her palace to the east.'

'You were successful?'

Daniel went the same shade of pink as the dawn sky above them and bent down to fuss over Archimedes. 'Not in so many words. She distracted me, and was able to move the entire palace while my attention was elsewhere. I hate questing against the fae-blooded at times.'

'You should. But not all fae-blooded have magic,' said Walter. 'Or are beautiful,' he added, having some idea of what Lady Twilight had done to distract Daniel. Daniel turned a deeper shade of pink and fidgeted enough that Archimedes abandoned him and took up a steadier perch in an oak.

'Yes, I suppose not,' said Daniel. 'Still, I hope nobody makes a ballad of that quest. With luck the next one will be better.'

'I came to talk to you about that. I've a new quest to undertake, could use some help.' Walter sat on the bench next to Daniel, waiting for an answer. Daniel nodded, indication of thought rather than agreement.

'What manner of quest?' he asked.

'A girl child was taken by the fae, a doll left in her place that mimicked flesh. The priest discovered it, but can't recover the stolen girl. I promised I would.'

Daniel nodded again slowly, biting his lip. 'We would have to travel into faerie,' he said. 'Laurel and Jon might help, they live on the border so it would not be out of our way.

Walter snorted. The wizard and the nixie lived together without the benefit of marriage and performed unchristian magic. There was also Daniel's unfortunate infatuation with the nixie. He was always drawn to the fae-blooded, seemed unaware of what they were like when they gave into their fae heritage and wallowed in depravity and decadence. At least he was unlikely to challenge Jon for her, that was a small consolation. And even their help would be welcome, if the child was to be rescued time was of the essence. Walter unclenched his fists, only then realising that he had clenched them, the leather gauntlets squeaking slightly as he did.

'Very well, we will visit them first. Should start soon, once you have armour on.'

Daniel stood up, whistling for Archimedes. The sky was gold and violet, matching King Adrian's flag as it flew above the castle the two of them were heading towards. Their minds were already on the road ahead.

Jon lived in a cave by one of the rivers which flowed out of faerie, quite high up in the hills. Which meant they had to dismount and lead the horses on the final stretch of the path. A dip in the rock outside the cave caused a small lake as the river flowed into it, before leaving again as a waterfall. Laurel lived partly in the cave partly, as her nature dictated, in the lake. Her mother, a full nixie to Laurel's half, thankfully lived elsewhere. As they approached Laurel was waist deep in the lake, flowing yellow dress clinging to her skin. Walter wanted to dismiss her as weak, but she and Jon had both fought in the King's service before and he could not deny that she had held her own. He still disliked her, and sharp golden eyes meeting his held evidence, if any were needed, that the dislike was mutual.

'Hello, Daniel, how pleasant to see you again,' she said, wading out of the water to offer Daniel her hand. Walter decided that if she was ignoring him he could ignore her as well. He took the reins of Daniel's horse as well as his own, moving to tie them to a tree branch. Daniel returned her greeting behind him, sounding flustered.

'We needed to talk with you and Jon, is he busy?' he asked.

'As always,' replied Laurel. 'But he knew you were coming today, so I doubt it is anything he cannot set aside.'

'Oh. That's good,' said Daniel, rather flatly. Walter knew the wizard's scrying ability unnerved him, it bothered Walter less and had been convenient on occasion, but Daniel found it hard to get used to having his movements predicted. Walter found Jon's gaze more unnerving that his foresight, he always looked at Walter as if armour was no bar to seeing him at all.

They found Jon inside, familiar blue tattoos in whorls over his skin. In deference to his guests he had donned black robes, rather than his customary nudity. The walls of the cave were covered with concentric circles, some marked with dots, and the place was filled with wire contraptions many of which looked like spiders.

'Greetings, Sir Walter, Sir Daniel,' said Jon, looking up with pale blue eyes that always seemed to be figuring out how you fit together, as if you were just another of those contraptions he built. 'How can I help you?'

Daniel looked uncertain, and Walter knew he was trying to figure out if they really needed to tell the wizard when he already knew what they would tell him. Walter preferred to ignore unanswerable questions and keep to the matter in hand, so he was the one who spoke. 'A girl, six years of age, was stolen from her home, brought into faerie. Would appreciate knowledge of where she may have been taken.'

'From what I have been able to deduce, she was taken into Winter once past the border. Despite this, signs suggest her abductor was not unseelie,' said Jon. His natural scrying ability only applied to his own life, he had used his tools to discover this knowing they would ask.

'That's good,' said Daniel, relief colouring his voice. The unseelie were the crueller fae, a seelie abductor meant the girl was likely still alive. Probably being treated like a treasured doll, at least until her new owner tired of her. Even seelie fae could be monsters.

'Yes. I thank you for the information,' said Walter. 'We should go now.'

'You should eat and rest here first,' said Laurel, putting a hand on Daniel's arm. 'You may not get much chance once past the border.'

Daniel looked at Walter. 'We could at least stay here to eat,' he said.

Walter did not want to but they would have to eat, here or in faerie, and it made sense to do so in safety. 'Fine. But we're not staying here to sleep. There's still daylight.'

Laurel accompanied them to the edge of faerie, the horses still being led behind them. The way to faerie was always easy to miss and Daniel stumbled over how to find it, needing to be set right several times by Laurel. It made a difference, this close, whether they went around a tree to the left or the right and which branches they ducked under. The horses balked a little, instinctively, as they got closer.

'Where's Archimedes?' asked Laurel suddenly.

Daniel smiled at her as he answered. 'I left him with Hollis, faerie is no place for a pet owl. Even the horses dislike it, but they'll settle down once we're in. And we may well need them.'

'Here,' said Walter, pausing between two huge holly trees, their crowns flecked with red. Between them he could see the vivid autumn colours of rowan trees against a backdrop of firs. On their side of the entrance it was summer.

'So here is where I leave you. Be careful,' said Laurel. She sighed. 'Both of you.'

Walter nodded at her stiffly. 'I intend to be.'

'We'll take care,' said Daniel. 'Do not worry, overmuch. We've both been in faerie before.'

'I know,' said Laurel. She leant forward and kissed Daniel on the cheek, a complete violation of any manners but unfortunately normal for the fae. Walter hrrmed disapprovingly, and was ignored.

They stepped between the holly trees and into the forest. Walter felt the change in temperature first, chill creeping under his armour, and something less definable as well, like breaking the surface of a lake. He looked around at the forest, getting his bearings.

'This way,' he said, gesturing for Daniel to join him. 'We should find a road, then we can ride.'

Daniel nodded, and followed obediently. 'How do you know where we are?'

'I don't. But the rowan trees have less berries this way, more brown leaves and less red. We're headed winterwards.'

Daniel looked around the forest, probably able to spot the differences for himself now they had been pointed out. The firs were no help, impervious to the seasons changes, while the rowan leaves flared like fire and fell like ash, dying with the year. An illusion, the seasons here were places and not times, the rowan leaves had hung there burning out for centuries. It was because Walter was looking carefully at the trees that he noticed the trickle of red against white bark, the needles embedded in the wood. He touched his finger to the liquid and licked it off his leather gauntlet. Blood, not sap.

'Manticore, close by,' he said. Why, or how, manticore stings could make trees drip blood he did not know, magic seldom bothered to make sense, but he knew how dangerous a manticore could be. So did Daniel, he drew his sword at the warning.

'Should we go back, find another way into Winter?' asked Daniel.

Walter shook his head decisively. 'No time. We travel as fast as we can, hope to be out of the manticore's territory before it sees us.'

Time had been changed as they entered faerie, although the sun had been slipping towards evening before it was now barely past noon. They still had plenty of daylight to travel in and would not need to risk sleeping in the manticore's territory. Walter scanned the forest to see if the trees thinned anywhere, being able to ride would be a great advantage. Picking a direction that looked promising he set out towards it.

They managed to ride for a while before the forest was invaded by brambles and they had to dismount again. The horses were having more trouble with the brambles than they were, although the thorns scratched the paint off Walter's armour. He helped himself to blackberries in recompense, they were sweet and sharp on his tongue. He caught Daniel's wrist when he saw him going to do the same thing, and Daniel looked surprised and a little hurt.

'Why not? You are,' he said.

Walter cursed himself for his slip, the blackberries would do him no harm but he had no way of explaining that to Daniel. His prayer for a distraction was answered in the worst way possible by a strange hissing roar, sounding far too close. He let go of his horse's reins and drew his sword in one smooth movement. Daniel slipped his visor down, hiding his face, and likewise drew his sword.

The manticore padded gracefully into the clearing, scorpion's tail coiled and quivering over its leonine body. Its head was a man's head, but when it opened its mouth to roar again it showed three rows of jagged teeth. The two knights moved away from each other, their armour should protect them from its darts but no need to let it hit both of them at once. They could hear the pounding hooves of their horses' retreat behind them, a wise move in the face of this predator. The manticore's head wavered between them, reckoning them up. It fixed on Daniel as the larger meal and pounced in one movement.

Daniel's sword bit into its side, but it trapped his arm before he could do more. Its claws raked across his stomach and, to Walter's dismay, the metal parted under them, shavings peeling away like sawdust. Its mouth closed around Daniel's helmet, but it drew back gagging on the crest of owl feathers. Walter took his opportunity and dived for its exposed neck. Its tail flicked at him, shooting a quiverful of darts at his face. Most were stopped by his helmet's grill but the few that made it to his flesh were agony. He could not stop the reflexive jerk back, and that gave the manticore time to resettle itself. It was sitting on Daniel, horrifyingly still beneath it, mouth and front claws free to fight off Walter.

Walter and the manticore eyed each other warily across the bramble strewn clearing. Walter could only see out of one eye now, blood had run into the other. He was starting to feel a little dizzy, suspected those darts had been poisonous. His armour would protect him from more darts, but he already knew the manticore's claws could rip through it. He had to win this, he just didn't know how. Daniel's left hand, the arm the manticore wasn't sitting on, raised and waved slightly. He was conscious. Good.

Walter charged forwards, this time ready for the sting of darts meeting his face and refusing to flinch. He slammed his sword into the manticore's face, managing a shallow slice across its cheek as it pulled back. He pressed the advantage, ignoring one claw ripping straight through his armour to his thigh. Aimed for its chest, its legs, until it was forced to shift its weight backwards and off Daniel. Daniel's sword arced up and sliced open its belly, showering him with guts. The manticore yowled like a scalded cat and slumped sideways.

'Ugh,' said Daniel, pushing the dying manticore aside and scrambling to his feet covered with blood and offal.

'Yes,' said Walter, slumping over and pushing his sword into the dirt to hold him up.

'Are you hurt?' asked Daniel. He pushed his visor up, revealing a worried expression.

'Poisoned. Some of the darts got my face,' said Walter. He wanted to sit down and catch his breath, but doubted he could stand up again if he did.

'Let me see,' said Daniel. He stepped forward, put his fingers on the edge of Walter's visor, and Walter's left hand closed around his wrist like a vise. 'You need to get the darts out. For all we know they're still pumping poison into you.'

'Can do it myself,' said Walter. 'Look away.'

'You can hardly stand,' said Daniel, sounding as though he was barely clinging to patience. 'Poison is nothing to be careless with. What if you missed a dart?'

Walter swallowed down nausea and admitted, at least internally, that Daniel had a point. And maybe if he only lifted the visor, and Walter kept his eyes closed…He sighed. 'Fine. Do it.'

Daniel surprised him by grasping the whole helmet, his eyes flew open and almost before he could gasp out 'No,' it was gone and Daniel was staring at him. Walter closed his eyes, as if Daniel had not already seen the golden tint, and covered the pointed tips of his ears with his hands. A childish gesture and one Daniel ignored in favour of pulling needles from his face.

Walter knew what Daniel was seeing, aside from golden eyes and pointed ears his face was remarkable only for being ugly, all raw and mismatched angles. Part of him felt that was unfair, most fae-blooded were beautiful, and if he had to be a monster he could at least have been a good looking one. Another part of him said that was a stupid thing to want, and only proof of the degenerate impulses of his blood. Walter swayed, no longer supported by his sword, and Daniel caught him under the arms, lowering him to the ground. His armour protected him from the brambles he was now sitting in.

'I think I got all the darts,' said Daniel. 'It looks like only a little swelling. Does it still hurt?'

'No.' It was numb and tingling instead, but Walter didn't mention that. He took Daniel's waterskin when it was offered and gulped down cool water, surprised by how thirsty he was. When he passed the waterskin back Daniel wetted a handkerchief from it and gently dabbed the stings on his face clean.

Daniel cleared his throat and looked away, hands fidgeting with the handkerchief. Walter tensed, knowing Daniel was working up to a conversation he didn't want to have.

'I don't know why you thought I would mind,' said Daniel finally. 'I've always got on well with Laurel.'

This ignored the fact that Walter hadn't, had made several derogatory comments about the fae-blooded around her. Comments Daniel had objected to, even if they were true.

'It's different,' said Walter, tiredly. 'I'm not like her. Not like the rest of them.'

'There's nothing wrong with Laurel,' said Daniel, but half-heartedly.

'Sinful. Displays herself. Lives with a man she's not married to.' Walter's sentences were getting choppy with exhaustion. He shuffled himself over to a tree and leant back against it.

'She can't stay out of water for more than a few days, she could hardly pass for human. And I'm not even sure the church would allow her to marry,' responded Daniel, trapped in an argument neither of them wanted to have.

'Should stay celibate then. No self-control.'

'You can't seriously think no fae-blooded should ever have a relationship,' began Daniel. He cut himself off and sighed. 'No, you probably can. Sorry, I just…just wanted to say this doesn't make any difference. Not start an argument about Laurel.'

'Hurm,' muttered Walter. He used the tree he was leaning on to climb to his feet. 'Should move on, make camp somewhere that doesn't smell of dead manticore.' They should probably also look for the horses, but he was too tired to care. Daniel wrapped an arm around his waist, and he didn't pull away because he needed it to stand. They limped on, further towards Winter.

The found a river to sleep by, probably the same one that ran past Jon's cave, and Walter woke long past sunrise to find Daniel scouring his armour clean with sand from its bed.

'You should have woken me,' he said. His helmet had been left behind, he realised with a pang. It felt strange to look at the world and not have it striped in light and dark.

'You needed to sleep the poison off,' said Daniel. 'Exertion would not have been a good idea.'

Daniel pulled the arm guard he was cleaning out of the river. The rest of his armour lay around him in pieces, scoured and gleaming in the sun. Walter grunted and sat up.

'We need to find my helmet,' he said.

Daniel nodded and started buckling his armour on. 'We should probably find the horses too, if we can. We'll make better time riding, and this is no place for mortal creatures to be wandering.'

The helmet was easiest to find, and Walter felt almost overwhelming relief at being hidden inside it again. The horses were harder, hooves made little impression on ground spongy with fir needles. It was while they were looking that Walter saw movement between two trees. He walked past carefully, then spun flattening the creature against a rowan. It was a little wood sprite, barely larger than a child, with skin like bark and huge mossy green eyes. Walter lifted it off the ground, holding it against the tree with one hand, and it scrabbled against him with fingers like twigs.

'I need information,' he said. 'Tell me and I won't hurt you. Did a fae with a child come through here? A human child, six years old, blonde.'

The creature keened like wind through branches, and nodded desperately.

'What kind of fae? And where did she go?' Walter demanded.

'A sidhe lady, with dark hair and a purple dress,' whispered the sprite. 'She went straight winterwards.'

'Do you know where she lives?' said Walter.

'No.' Walter caught one of its twiggy fingers between his own and it trembled, shaking its head desperately. 'No. I don't know. No. No, no, no.'

Walter dropped the sprite, watched it scramble away into the nearby brambles. A sidhe was bad, the worst of the seelie fae, and his anxiety must have shown in his posture because Daniel spoke up from behind him.

'Bad news?'

'Yes, but not unexpected.' Walter started walking again, tracking the horses more than half by guesswork. He thought they would have headed back summerwards, towards both warmth and the way out of faerie. Daniel fell in beside him. 'Sidhe love children, but they're not good with them. They treat them like toys, to be put away when they get bored. Or thrown across the room when they're angry.'

'Even their own children?' asked Daniel.

Walter nodded. 'Sidhe are born tough, they can handle it. And they don't need much-' Affection. Love. '-attention.'

Something in his tone had given him away, and Daniel chewed his lip before asking, 'Are you…?'

'Half. It doesn't matter.'

Walter strode on quickly, shoulders hunched against sympathy so intense he could actually feel it. He entered a clearing, barely paying attention to where he was going, and there, in a small miracle, were the horses. Together and unharmed under a lone apple tree eating fallen fruit.

The palace was in Winter proper, and it definitely belonged to a sidhe. No other type of faerie that Walter knew would build a palace entirely of flowers in the centre of a frozen lake. The walls were christmas roses, the conical turrets tiled in poinsettia which also outlined the doors and windows. The windows were ice, bright petals frozen in them in mimicry of stained glass, and the heavy double doors were holly and ivy bound together.

'Woah,' said Daniel softly.

'Ridiculous,' said Walter. 'The sidhe have a penchant for melodrama.'

They dismounted, horses could be easily panicked by magic and would be no use here.

'How do we get in?' asked Daniel. 'I mean, the walls look easier to get through than the door.'

'Steel can hack through either. Wall would give the element of surprise.' Walter suited actions to words and charged at the nearest section of wall. Steel was no protection against magic in itself, but wielded with conviction it could always break through enchantments. The roses parted around him, white petals falling onto ice.

They stepped through into a hall, pink autumn crocuses lined the walls, and star of Bethlehem spangled the floor under their feet. Statues, again of ice with petals trapped inside, lined the walls. Female forms with no arms or faces, breasts thrust out in grotesquely sensual poses. The sidhe lady in her purple dress, more star of Bethlehem twined in her hair, sat on a throne of poinsettia. At her feet sat a dog, white with red ears, gnawing on some bones.

'Hello, fair knights,' she said. She looked thoughtfully at their shields. 'A golden owl on brown, and two black crows on white. Sir Daniel and Sir Walter. I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you before. You may call me Isa.'

'Where is the girl?' said Walter.

'Girl?' She batted her eyelashes at him in exaggerated innocence. Her eyes under the lashes were hard silver, slitted like a cat's.

'Her name is Belle,' he said, taking a step forwards. The dog looked up and whined, but stilled at the touch of its mistress' hand. 'You were seen with her. Where is she?'

Isa gestured languidly at the dog and the bones it had been gnawing on. 'Right there. You see, if I can't have her, no one will.'

Walter registered the shape of the bones as he heard soft, horrified cursing from behind him. A femur, ribs. A skull. The inside of his head went white with pain.

'It would behoove you to show mercy, fair knight,' whispered Isa. Walter lifted his eyes, meeting hers through the grill of his helmet. He charged her, meaning to end her with one cut and make the world a cleaner place. Isa stepped nimbly onto the back of her throne, and from there into the air. She sat, far above his sword reach, swinging her legs like a girl. Walter turned, anger roiling like a turbulent river meeting a dam. Balked of one target it searched frantically for another, found the dog sitting almost by his legs with blood still on its mouth. He muttered something, a word too soft and mangled for even him to understand, and drew his sword back to strike.

A hand closed around his wrist. 'She's just a dog,' said Daniel, voice shaking. 'This…this is sick. But it's not her fault.'

Walter gasped, coiled rage trying to strike at Daniel, at the dog, at anything but himself for being too late, _too late. _Isa laughed, out of his reach and knowing it, and all the rage and hate and overwhelming misery rushed out of him in a way he hadn't known was possible. Isa fell, crumpled like an autumn leaf and bleeding out onto the floor of her palace.

The palace started to fall, petals scattering over them as if they were at a wedding. Walter wanted to cry, to scream, to do anything except stand there watching the dying sidhe on the ground and wishing he hadn't been too late for everything but vengeance. A child's wail cut through his thoughts and he turned to see a little blonde girl next to a pile of deer bones. An illusion. She had been the dog. He bit back nausea as he realised he had nearly killed her, that Isa had intended him to kill her, and he wanted to resurrect Isa so he could kill the sidhe again. More slowly.

He moved towards Belle, wanting to scoop her up and feel her weight in his arms. To know that she was real, that he had saved her and everything was fine after all. But she wailed harder when he reached for her and fled to Daniel. Daniel caught her by the shoulders, holding her away from the sharp edged gashes in his armour, and lifted her, letting her bury her face against the side of his helmet. Walter could hear her babbling about the pretty lady and the pretty lady dying and why did he kill the pretty lady? Why why why? Daniel murmured something soothing, rubbing her back, and tried to meet Walter's gaze through both their visors.

They left the disintegrating palace and rode back to the last night's camp. Belle sobbed about the pretty lady, and glared at Walter if he got too close, until he wanted to slap her, shake her, anything to make her be quiet. To make her understand how wrong she was, what kind of monster they had saved her from. She had nice, normal parents waiting for her and worrying, and she wasn't even grateful to be going back to them. The feelings scared him, finding he could be this angry with a helpless child. All the more so since his anger had killed Isa, what if he turned it on Belle? It was a relief when she fell asleep before they reached the camp.

Walter fed the horses and checked their hooves, glad the armour hid how badly he was shaking, while Daniel spread out the bedrolls and tucked Belle into one of them. Daniel sat down heavily on the other bedroll and pulled off his helmet. Walter was both surprised and guiltily relieved to see tears drying on his cheeks, to know that he wasn't the only one feeling shattered by what they had just been through. Walter wanted to comfort him but didn't know how. He set about making the fire instead.

It lit before Walter could reach for the tinderbox, and he felt sick and shaky at the sight of flames licking up unkindled. Something had woken inside him, a dark butterfly emerging from its chrysalis and stretching, wings brushing his insides. It wasn't just that magic was coming too easily, unbidden, it was infecting his thoughts as well. Telling him there was no justice in the world, that good people were hurt while bad ones flourished and no one cared. Telling him that he could fix it, bend the world to his will and make it a better place. Walter knew where those impulses came from, knew how sidhe thought. The fact that the arrogance and madness had been mixed up with truth and justice inside him didn't make a difference. Didn't make those desires _right._

Walter stumbled over to sit beside Daniel grabbing his hand desperately, suddenly needing something to anchor him. Daniel squeezed back and managed a watery smile, seeming as grateful for the contact as he was. Neither of them spoke. It was too soon for them to have found words.

The next night they were nearly at the edge of faerie when Walter insisted they make camp. He was expecting Daniel to argue, to point out they could be out before it got too dark to see and spend the night with Jon and Laurel. It was a relief when Daniel just tucked Belle up and set about making camp.

Walter sat on the spare bedroll, fidgeting with the edge of it as he tried to start the conversation. Finally he just said what was on his mind. 'I'm not leaving faerie.'

Daniel looked over at him, flames painting his startled face in orange. 'Why not?'

'Magic. Never used it before. Now things I want happen without conscious thought.' Walter ran his hands over his helmet distractedly. 'I'm not safe around mortals now. Not until I learn some control.'

'Fine. We can stay in faerie, I'm sure there's a lot of good we can do patrolling the borders,' said Daniel, sounding as if he was already planning where they might go next.

Walter swallowed, this was the hardest thing to say. 'You can't come. I'm not safe around _any_ mortals.'

Daniel knelt in front of him and almost managed to meet eyes he couldn't see. 'Have you ever seriously wanted me dead?'

'No!' The dismayed exclamation was out before Walter realised why Daniel had asked, why it was important.

'Then I'm coming with you. Jon and Laurel will take Belle back to her parents, you know they won't mind.' Daniel placed one hand carefully on the shoulder of Walter's armour, as if he could feel it. 'We can get through this. I promise.'

Walter shrugged him off roughly and muttered, 'Fine. You can come.' But his voice was only so gruff because he was fighting tears.

Laurel was glad to see them back safely, and dismayed to learn they were going back into faerie so soon. She demanded to know why, and was met with flustered excuses from Daniel and growls from Walter that it was none of her concern. Jon only looked at them with eyes that could see right through them and accepted everything without question.

'There is a gnome king calling himself Colossus who has been stealing villagers to work in his mines,' said Jon. 'Perhaps you could deal with him? He can be found on the Spring side of Midwinter.'

They agreed that they would, and Jon agreed to take Belle home. Laurel once again accompanied them to the edge of faerie.

'Tell Hollis I'm sorry to leave him stuck with Archimedes,' said Daniel.

'I'll tell him,' said Laurel. 'Or ask my mother to. He visits her lake quite often.'

Laurel leant forward to kiss Daniel's cheek. 'I'll miss you,' she said.

'I'm not planning on vanishing,' said Daniel. 'You live on the border of faerie. We'll visit.'

'I wish you'd tell me what's going on,' said Laurel. 'Something's wrong, I can see that. But I don't even now how bad it is, or if I could help.'

Walter tensed, but Daniel shook his head. 'I can't tell you,' he said. 'But we'll be back. I promise.'

Daniel promised things too easily, thought Walter, remembering Daniel's promise to him the night before. He wondered whether Daniel really thought he could keep those promises or was willing to compromise his honour to offer comfort. Then Laurel was gone, walking away from them down the path, and they stepped between the holly trees, into faerie.

They did not return to King Adrian's court at Nyr Jorvik that year, nor the three years that followed. But the year after that, as Christmas approached and holly and ivy were found around every door, they could be found in the mortal world, heading home. They had defeated Colossus, and later a fae sorcerer calling himself Moloch. Daniel had caught Lady Twilight twice, and she had escaped both times. They had killed a dragon, saving a community of dwarves who had made them new armour in gratitude. Walter had learned to control both his magic and his sidhe impulses, although he was quieter than he had been and seldom spoke to anyone but Daniel. And now they were here, back at the door of the King they were sworn to serve.

They were welcomed warmly, news of their battles having reached the castle long before they did, and bidden to join the feast. It was as if they had never left. Daniel talked with Hollis, and tried to reconcile with Archimedes via titbits. Sir Edward flirted with the serving girls. Sir Nelson and Sir Rolf argued in the way that made their relationship the worst kept secret in the court. Walter disapproved, of course, but right now even their perversion felt reassuring in its familiarity.

The feast lasted all night and it was nearly dawn when Daniel touched Walter's shoulder to get his attention. 'I'm taking Archimedes outside for a bit,' he said. 'Would you like to come?'

Walter nodded, and followed Daniel outside. The chill air felt good after the stuffy banquet hall and, since it was only Daniel present, Walter tipped his visor up to expose his face to the breeze. Daniel smiled. Walter couldn't help smiling back, he had been so nervous about returning here. But everything was fine, as if time had stopped for a while to give him time to catch up. Maybe Daniel really could keep his promises.

'This was always my favourite place to watch the sunrise from,' said Daniel. 'It looks so beautiful over the forest.'

Walter grunted agreement, the sky near the horizon was stained with pink and gold. They stood together and watched the sun rise on a world already turning towards spring.


End file.
